Many players have been complaining about loot boxes for years. Many see them as a waste of money. Others are extremely irritated when a game implements them. Most of these players see them as a way for publishers and developers to cash in on items that should have already been in the game.

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Australian Senate

Now, it looks like governments are listening, even if publishers aren’t. The Australian Senate has passed a motion launching an investigation into loot boxes. According to the Senate:

“The extent to which gaming micro-transactions for chance-based items, sometimes referred to as ‘loot boxes’, may be harmful.”

The motion passed. This means that there won’t need to be a vote in order to launch the investigation. The motion was submitted earlier this week by Senator Jordan Steele-John. The motion also brought up current consumer protections and disclosure of odds. Mr. Steele-John said:

“I have significant concerns about the adequacy of current consumer protection and regulatory frameworks for monetized game mechanics, particularly when we know they are accessible to children. An incredible number of popular big name titles incorporate these kinds of monetized game mechanics, not as a way of improving in-game experience, but as a way of simply prying more money off their players.”

The motion received no backlash from the Senate. However, publishers and developers have yet to comment publicly on the matter. That being said, they’re not going to take the matter lying down. Loot boxes make up a sizeable share of revenue for publishers. Because if that, they’re going to try to stop any negative effects of any investigation.